


One Last time

by orphan_account



Category: Smosh
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, BoyxBoy, Death, F/M, Ianthony - Freeform, M/M, Marhinki, MxM - Freeform, Smosh cast, Wesari, Zombie, Zombie Apocalypse, boyxgirl, mxf, smosh - Freeform, smosh games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-02
Updated: 2015-10-03
Packaged: 2018-04-18 17:41:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4714691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the first time in Ian’s life, he felt he had a true friend. He had found this in his fellow soldier, Anthony Padilla. But things change. They fought, and when they were discharged they went their separate ways. Ian and Anthony never thought they would see each other again. Until one day. </p><p>Wide spread panic through the country, it has come, the zombie apocalypse. Both Ian and Anthony manage to get their friends through the first night, but they never thought that it would come down to what it was. Ian and Anthony meet again and they join forces, trying to save the world together one last time. Smosh/Smosh cast/Smosh games zombie apocalypse AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This idea has been floating around in my head for a while...I told myself I wasn't going to write it until I finished at least one of my other stories...that didn't happen. It just kept going through my head, and I planned it all out so I just gave in and started writing it.  
> I will try my best to get chapters of my other stories out, but for now enjoy the zombie apocalypse!  
> Also, the first chapter does get a tad boring, especially in the beginning, but it picks up towards the end I promise :)

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Flashbacks:

The bowl haired boy walked through the the dorm of the military academy. He was fresh out of high school, barely nineteen years old. He walked down the line of bunks until he found the one assigned to him. He dropped his one bag on it. He didn’t have much, he never really had much. Then another boy dropped down from the bunk above him. 

The first thing he noticed about the boy was that he was much more in shape than Ian was. He assumed that in time he would look like him. The boy had already shaved his hair. Ian wasn’t quite ready to part with the bowl on his head. The other boy looked at him. 

“Sup,” he said, leaning against the bedpost. 

“Hi,” Ian said, fiddling with the zipper on the bag. 

“Anthony,” the boy said. 

“Ian,” he replied. 

And from this moment on they were friends. Ian was the weak link in their group, but Anthony helped them. On numerous occasions, Ian would create extra work for them, and ultimately drag them down, but Anthony stood up for him while the others only wanted to beat him up. Ian was happy about this. He had found a friend in Anthony. 

After two years, the two graduated together, and were deployed. Both had been specially trained as snipers. Anthony was definitely fitter than Ian was, but Ian was a better shot. Anthony was a good shot, yes, but Ian could shoot a target the size of a grape up to five hundred yards away. 

That’s when they bonded even more. 

They spent most of their time on stone rooftops in a foreign countries, crossing off members of different terrorist organizations. Ian was trained to think nothing of it, but of course he did. He was killing people one by one. Yes they were bad people, but they were still people. Ian felt a twinge of guilt when he would kill them. But no one ever saw. It was a shot and then he was gone. 

Anthony felt the same way he did. They talked about it sometimes, in the dead of night with no one listening. Everyone said that the military academy breaks you. Both Ian and Anthony were different men then they were when they started there. Ian felt especially different.

When Ian started, he didn’t know exactly who he was. What he liked, who he liked, or anything like that. That’s why he joined the military, he thought it would give him identity. And it did. 

He realized exactly who he loved. He realized that over the three years they had spent together he had fallen in love with Anthony. And he had finally gotten the balls to tell him. 

And he wished he hadn’t.

There was one night the two of them were sitting on a rooftop. They were waiting for their intended targets to arrive on the busy street. That’s when Ian spoke. 

“So, Anthony, you know I joined the army to not only defend our country, but to try and find myself, right?” Ian asked, not taking his eyes off the streets below. 

“Yeah,” Anthony replied, also not taking his eyes off the street. 

“Well, I think I did,” Ian said. He was looking at Anthony. Anthony had also turned his head and looked. Ian acted on impulse. He hadn’t intended to kiss Anthony that night, but it had just happened. Ian had barely touched Anthony’s lips when Anthony punched him in the face and stood up. 

“Listen. Ian. I like being your friend but I absolutely do not feel the same way. Also...,” Anthony began, but he was cut short. There was a gunshot, and Anthony hit the ground. Ian quickly looked through the scope and found the man holding a gun. He shot him in the head before attending to Anthony’s injury. 

Anthony had been discharged on medical. The shot damaged him too much to be useful to them anymore. At least not for another year. When that happened Ian started acting extremely disobedient. And he was relieved from duty. 

Ian and Anthony hadn’t spoken since that night

***

Present Day

Dear Dr. Sohinki,

My name is David Moss and I am a scientist at Mendoff Research Lab in Sacramento. We are a medical R&D laboratory working mostly on the brain. We have found something terrible. We had unleashed a monster we found in the human brain. It’s a virus that turns the host body into, I’m not kidding when I say this, a zombie. Like full on brain dead, wants to kill you and eat your brain, zombie. 

I feel we should meet in person, but until then, stay on high alert. There’s something going on in administration, I think they’re going to release it to the public, and, yes, start the zombie apocalypse. I don’t know why, but I have a gut feeling it’s going to happen tonight. They have their hands in virtually every pocket, so they can do a lot of damage. I know this probably sounds crazy, and if you don’t believe me or want to help fine, can you at least, please connect me with someone else who might?

And if you do believe me, I’d keep anyone you want to protect from the zombie apocalypse close to you. And if it happens before we meet, which if my feeling is, right it will, take anyone you can and bring them to the Wildcats stadium, and we’ll go from there. 

Regards,  
David Moss

David closed his computer, and looked back at his bed. His wife, Sabrina, was sleeping peacefully, and he heard no sounds coming from his son, Tyler’s, bedroom. He stripped down and crawled under the covers next to his wife. He fell asleep with his mind a little more at ease than before. Before he felt alone, now he felt he had at least started to find someone who would understand. 

It was three am when his phone began ringing. He picked it up, and saw it was Anthony calling him. No one called him in the middle of the night, and Anthony hardly ever called people. Something was wrong. He quickly picked up the phone. 

“David!” Anthony shouted into the phone. It sounded like he was running around the house. He heard a crash, “it’s happening. Dude, it’s happening!”

“What? It got out!?” David asked, getting out of bed. This woke his wife. He looked at her, “get Tyler and grab the bags,”

She nodded. She knew what he was talking about. They had prepared for this. She got out of bed and quickly got changed, then she left the room. David put the phone on speaker, and dropped it on his desk. He was in too much of a hurry to see the little number one next to his email. 

“Can you pick up Noah, Olivia, and Flitz? I’ll get Joven and Wes,” David asked. Anthony agreed, “meet at the McDonald’s as soon as you can. Fair warning, it’s going to be chaos,”

Anthony agreed and hung up. Sabrina came back into the room, ready to go. 

“Call Joven,” David said, walking past her, “I’ve got Wes. We’re going to pick them up then we’re going to meet at McDonald’s,”

She nodded and followed them down the stairs to the garage. They stopped for a moment when they heard an explosion. It only stopped them for a moment then they continued on. She put Tyler in his car seat then got in the driver’s side. She dropped the bags at David’s feet, and opened the garage door. It was chaos here in their small neighborhood, but there was even more coming from the city. They pulled out. 

***

Matt Sohinki sat in front of his laptop much later than he normally did. When he looked back on it, he called this moment fate. It had, in a way, saved his and his friend’s lives. He had gotten a strange email from a scientist named David Moss, claiming the zombie apocalypse was about to happen. The strangest thing about it was, Matt believed him. He picked up his phone, and called his friend Mari. 

“Hey Sohinki, what’s up?” she said when she answered. Her voice. He loved her voice. He could listen to her voice all day. She was so beautiful, and he was in love with her, so of course he called her first. 

“Something’s up,” Matt said, “I got an email from a scientist and he says...he says that their lab has created zombies,”

“Zombies?” Mari asked, Matt detected a hint of doubt in her voice, “and you believe him?”

“I don’t know,” Matt said, “every part of my brain is telling me not to, but there’s just something in my gut telling me it’s true,”

“So what do you want to do?” Mari asked. 

“I wanna bring everyone to Ian’s. There’s just something that doesn’t feel right. I don’t know. It’s probably stupid,” he said. 

“It probably isn’t,” Mari said. 

“Can you call the others?” Matt asked. 

“Yeah, I can do that,” Mari said. 

“Thank you,” Matt smiled, “oh, and tell them to bring anything they think they might need to survive the apocalypse. Because this scientist thinks it’s gonna happen tonight,” 

“You’re insane,” Mari said laughing.

“Yeah I love you too,” Matt said in a joking way. She laughed, of course not taking in seriously. She didn’t know how he felt about her. She hung up, and he put his phone back down on the desk. He began responding to David’s email. 

Dear Mr. Moss, 

I understand your concern, and as crazy as it sounds to me, I believe you. I’m gathering my friends together now, and I’m going to get their opinions on it. Like you said, it could happen tonight. 

I’ll see you at the Wildcats stadium,  
Matt Sohinki

He sent the email, and then grabbed a backpack from his closet. He put in a change of clothes. He went to his kitchen and grabbed some food and water, putting it in the bag as well. He took the largest kitchen knife he could find, and put it in his bag. He grabbed his jacket, and left his apartment. 

His friend, Ian Hecox, lived in an apartment a few floors above his. His friend had once been in the army, but has since become a bartender at a restaurant downtown. He felt going to him would be the smartest thing to do. It was nearly one am when he knocked on his friend’s door. He worked an early shift that day, so he was home, Matt had been over only a few hours earlier. Even if Ian wasn’t working late at the bar, he would always stay up, that’s why he wasn’t surprised when the door opened. 

“Hey,” Matt said, “we’re all coming over,”

“Sure,” Ian said, stepping aside, “can I ask why this late?”

“You still have your M9?” he asked, setting his bag on the floor. 

“Of course I still have my M9,” Ian replied, “but why are we all coming over to my place this late?”

“Possible zombie apocalypse,” Matt said, smiling a little, “I’ll explain once everyone gets here,”

Ian looked a little confused, but nodded slightly, “what’s in the bag?”

“Clothes, food, water, and a knife,” Matt replied. Ian nodded, and went back into his bedroom. He returned moments later with his gun in one hand, and a backpack in the other. 

“Can never be too safe, right?” Ian asked. Matt nodded. Ian thought this was absolutely crazy, but Matt was a very serious person. If Matt was spooked by something, Ian was spooked by it. He collected food and water and put it in his bag. He zipped it as Mari walked through the door. 

“Hey,” Matt said, instantly captivated when she walked into the room, “did you call the others?”

“Yeah, they’ll be here in a few,” she said, tossing the backpack onto the ground, “did that scientist say how it was going to spread,”

“No,” Matt replied, “I don’t think he knows,”

“So we could all be zombies right now?” she asked.

“It sounded like this virus is already living in our brains, and these scientists found a way to unlock it and set it free,” Matt said. 

“Well that sounds horrible,” Ian said from the kitchen.

“It is horrible, Ian. It is,” Matt said. Then there was a knock at the door and Courtney walked in. Not even a minute after she closed it Keith walked in. 

“Okay, what the hell is going on?” Courtney asked. 

“Wait til Shayne gets here, then I’ll tell you,” Matt said. Courtney sighed, and sat on the couch. Ian came into his living room and looked at his friends spread out. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what was about to happen to them. Then the door burst open and Shayne walked in. 

“Okay something’s up,” Shayne said, “it’s too quiet in the city,”

Shayne lived on the other side of the city, so he was the only one who had to drive through the city to get to Ian’s. 

“Zombies,” Matt said, “I got an email from a scientist named David Moss. He works at Mendoff, and he said they created zombies,”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Courtney laughed. Matt shook his head. 

“You don’t actually believe this guy, do you?” Keith asked. 

“I do believe this guy,” Matt replied, looking at him seriously, “he thinks something is going to happen tonight,”

“So that’s why we’re all here?” Courtney asked, “I have work tomorrow!”

“You’re not gonna have work if the apocalypse happens,” Matt said, “will you guys all just stay here for the night? Please?”

They all agreed. Courtney went to go sleep while the rest of them sat in Ian’s living room either playing on his Xbox or on their phones. 

Around 3:15 am, they heard an explosion, which got everyone’s attention, and even woke Courtney up. 

“What the hell was that?” Keith asked. Ian and Matt both stood, looking out the front window. There was fire coming from the city, a lot of it. 

“Alright, we’ve gotta go,” Matt said, going towards the door for his backpack. Then Courtney appeared in the hallway.

“What the hell was that?” she asked. 

“An explosion,” Ian replied, pushing past her to his bedroom. He grabbed a few magazines, and put them in his pockets. 

“Come on guys!” Matt shouted, “we’ve gotta go!”

“Go where?” Ian asked. 

“The Wildcats stadium,” Matt replied, “that’s where I’m supposed to meet the scientist,”

“Lets go then,” Ian said, and he ran out the door. 

***

“How much longer til you’ll be here?” Olivia asked. 

“A minute,” Anthony replied, pushing down harder on the gas pedal. He stopped in front on a house, and Olivia came running out. She got in the back seat, since Flitz already occupied the passenger seat.

“This is actually happening?” Olivia asked. 

“According to David it is,” Anthony said, “and if you look at the city it’s a pretty clear that something is happening,”

“We’ve gotta get Noah, but then we’re meeting the rest of them at McDonald’s, and I guess we’re fleeing from there,” Anthony said. 

“What the hell is that?!” Flitz shouted, pointing forward. In front of them was a group of people, but they weren’t exactly people. They were all torn and tattered, and were running straight at the car. 

“Zombies,” Anthony said. He leaned towards the glove compartment, and pulled a gun from it. He handed it back to Olivia. He began opening the sunroof. 

“Olivia shoot them!” Anthony shouted.

“Why do you have a gun in your glove compartment?!” Flitz asked. Olivia sighed and took the gun from Anthony and unbuckling her seatbelt. 

“I brought it with me, you moron,” Anthony said. Olivia stuck her head out of the sun roof and took the safety off the gun. Then she began shooting. Her shot wasn’t the best, but it kinda cleared the way. Then Anthony began crashing into them. Olivia kept shooting. 

“I’m out!” she yelled. 

“There are magazines in the center console,” Anthony said.

“How are those gonna help!?” Flitz asked in panic.

“Magazines that hold bullets you idiot!” Anthony yelled. He would get them himself, but he was busy trying to hit some zombies, while also avoiding too many of them, and trying to stay steady enough so he didn’t knock Olivia out of the car. He felt very pressured driving at this moment, especially because Noah’s house was on this street. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to stop in the middle of all these zombies. 

He heard the clicking of a gun being unloaded and reloaded. He heard the empty magazine drop to the floor then more gunshots go off. 

“Call Noah,” Anthony said, “see if there are this many zombies outside his place,”

Flitz nodded and quickly dialed Noah’s number. He hung up moments later. 

“He said there are,” Flitz said, “and that to just stop and leave the car unlocked. He says he has a knife and is going to fight his way through his front yard,”

“He is?!” Olivia shouted, then she looked up and saw him. He had a kitchen knife in his hand and was slashing at everything around him. Anthony saw him as well. He unlocked the door and began slowing down. Noah came running towards them, zombies at his heels. He pulled the door opened and jumped inside. Olivia shot until the magazine was empty then dropped down into the car as Anthony closed the sunroof. 

Olivia turned to Noah, and pulled him close to her. They hugged for a long while, both panting in silence before Olivia pulled away slightly and kissed him. They pulled up to the McDonald’s and Anthony pulled up next to David’s car as chaos ensued around them. 

“David, where are we going?” Anthony asked. 

“The Wildcats stadium,” David replied. 

“What?!” Anthony yelled, “that’s all the way on the other side of town!”

“I’m supposed to meet someone there,” David said. 

“Who?” Flitz asked. 

“A doctor,” David replied, “someone who can help,”

“Fine,” Anthony sighed, “but if we die getting there I’m going to kill you,”

“Do you honestly think I would put my kid’s life in danger if it weren’t for something that could help us in the end?” David asked. He had a fair point. Anthony rolled up the window, and David did as well. Sabrina began driving and Anthony followed him. 

***

They had split off into two cars. Matt drove one with Mari and Courtney, and Keith drove the other with Shayne and Ian. They didn’t have to go through the center of the city, but they had to go somewhat through it, and their journey wasn’t easy. 

They didn’t make it very far in their cars. The road turned into a gridlock of cars and fire. Matt removed the kitchen knife from his backpack, and Ian the gun from his. The rest of them had smaller knives, but Ian and Matt’s weapons were by far the best. They were running. Hell, they were running fast. There were zombies on their asses. Matt had taken the front of the group, and Ian the back. Ian was shooting over his shoulder, and Matt was slicing them a path in the front, although a cut on a zombie’s leg barely did anything to slow it.

Then there was an explosion. Matt had grabbed Mari, and shielded her body with his. They continued running towards the stadium. Ian nearly shot Shayne’s head off while trying to shoot a zombie that was about to bite Matt. 

They made it to the stadium. They were covered in dirt, sweat, and blood, both their own and zombie. They hid inside and waited. 

“Who exactly are we waiting for?” Ian asked. 

“The scientist,” Matt replied, “David Moss. I’m sure he had the same train of thought. The two of us together...we could stop this thing,”

Ian nodded, taking a sip of water, “but how long do we wait? They’re going to start barricading people in the city soon. Once the national guard shows up,”

“How do you know that?” Mari asked. 

“Army. It’s protocol,” Ian said. 

“Til sunrise,” Matt said, “if they’re not here by sunrise, we move,”

“We’re gonna need weapons,” Shayne said, “back when I was...in the business, I knew guys. Guys that could get me weapons whenever I needed them. I’ll see if I could get us any,”

“Everyone’s gonna be going to gun stores,” Ian said. 

“Who ever said this was a gun store?” asked Shayne, picking up his phone. 

***

Anthony and his friends needed to go through the heart of the city. It was not pretty for them. They had two guns and multiple knives between them, and their cars got stuck long before they even made it to the center. Anthony was given one gun, and Wes was given the other. They formed a sort of circle, putting David and his family in the middle. David said he would be fine taking the gun, considering he was the second best shot in their group of friends, but Wes said that he needed to take care of his family. He had forcefully taken the gun, and got into the back of the group.

“Who exactly are we meeting?” Anthony asked as they were sneaking through empty allies. 

“A neurologist named Matt Sohinki,” David said, “I emailed him earlier, I’m sad to say I have no idea if he responded,”

“So we could be going this way for nothing?!” Anthony almost yelled, “we could’ve gotten on the highway and gone!”

“I have faith in this guy,” David replied. 

“You don’t even know him!” Anthony yelled. This woke up Tyler, and they heard noises coming from behind them.

“RUN!” Wes screamed. 

They all took off running down the alley. Anthony ready to pull his gun at any moment. And he was going to have to, because there were zombies in front of them as well. He turned and ran into the nearest building, bolting the door as much as he could. 

“Wes take the front!” Anthony yelled, “I’ll be right behind you,”

Wes nodded and opened the door that led to the main street. The others ran out, and then Anthony let go of the door and took off. He heard the door break down behind him. He closed the front door and ran after his friends. 

They were now in center city, right near the lab David worked at. This was where it was the worst. The entire lab was up in flames, along with a lot of the neighboring buildings. There were explosions, and fire, and zombies, and chaos all around them. It was hard for them all to stay together. 

Wes then took a sharp left. Anthony was confused until he passed the building. There was a fence that blocked the alley, and Wes was standing right outside it, watching everyone go in. Anthony nodded at him as he ran through. Wes closed the gate and locked it before catching up with the group. 

It was a lot more peaceful in the alley then it was in center city. Anthony saw the stadium in the distance, and they all took off running towards it. 

***

Ian had offered to look out and wait for David Moss while the others stayed sheltered inside. Ian had a loaded gun, and a few magazines. He walked in front of the main entrance, listening to his friends just inside the door. He looked up, and saw a group of people coming in their direction. The sun was coming up behind them. He raised his gun at them, trying to see if they were friend or foe. He nearly passed out when he saw the group.

These people were definitely not zombies. There was a man with orange hair, standing next to a woman who was holding a child. There was an Asian woman holding hands with a scrawny man. Two large men, one with short hair and glasses, the other with long hair holding a gun. There was also a tall African American man.

And Anthony Padilla.


	2. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't normally choose a song that would describe a chapter. But, hypothetically, if this chapter were to have a song, it would be "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" by Fall Out Boy

Chapter 2: Escape

Anthony recognized him as well. The sunlight coming up behind him provided enough light so that he could make out the young man’s face. He would recognize that face anywhere. His hair had grown back out into the bowl that Anthony had first seen him sporting. Anthony stopped walking. He was not going to work with Ian. Not again. The last time Ian and him worked together, Ian tried to kiss him, then almost got him killed, then got him discharged from the army. The army was the best thing that ever happened to him, and Ian ruined it for him. 

“Anthony what’s wrong?” Joven had noticed he had stopped walking. The rest of them did as well. They all stared back at Anthony. 

“I can’t do this,” Anthony said, he turned and walked in the direction of the city. 

“Anthony!” David called, “what’s wrong?”

Anthony ignored him and kept walking. He heard footsteps behind him; someone was running. He took off running as well, not even bothering to turn around and see who it was. They were gaining fast; Anthony could practically feel the person on top of him. Then someone grabbed him around the legs and he fell, skidding across the grass. He looked down at the person who had tackled him. It was Ian. 

“Get the fuck off me,” Anthony said, kicking him and standing him. Ian stood up quickly too. Anthony was about to run, but Wes caught up to him. He took the gun from Anthony’s hand and gave it to David. 

“Come on, Anthony,” Wes said, grabbing his arm, and practically pulling him to the stadium. Ian couldn’t keep his eyes off Anthony. He never thought he would see the man again. This gave Ian hope that maybe there was a way they could be friends again. They all entered the stadium. 

That’s when Wes saw her. The most gorgeous girl he would ever lay eyes on. She looked at him when he walked inside. Wes stopped dead in his tracks. He wanted to look at her forever. They just stopped, and for that moment it felt like they were the only ones in the world.

“Mari! Earth to Mari!” Matt said, stepping in front of her. Mari snapped out of it, and looked at Matt. She laughed a little.

“Sorry. I’m just a little tired,” Mari lied. She was not at all tired. Her adrenaline rush was dying down, but she wasn’t tired. She was too captivated by the tall, handsome, long-haired man who had just walked through the door. 

“She didn’t look all that tired,” Ian whispered to Matt, laughing. Matt snickered, but he didn’t want to. He already didn’t like the guy. If this guy was going to take Mari away from him, he wasn’t going to like him. Matt was nothing compared to this guy. He hoped he got eaten by a zombie.

“Which one of you is David Moss?” Matt asked. The man with bright orange hair stepped forward. 

“I am,” he said. 

“Great, um, could you possibly shed some light on this situation?” Matt asked. David nodded. 

“I work at Mendoff research lab. I’m not a hundred percent sure what they were doing. I was working on a different project. But I saw something weird in this other lab, so I went back that night…”

“You went back at night!? You told me you found it during the day!” Sabrina asked. David froze for a moment. 

“Yeah...well, I lied,” David smiled a little.

“Why?!” 

“Because I knew you’d yell at me if you knew I did,” he said. This caused the others to smile a little, “anyway. When I went back I found literal zombies. Then I noticed everyone had all of a sudden become really strange and shifty. A lot of people were going on vacation, and the office was almost empty. I was the only one left with the common sense to get out.

“I don’t know how you get infected, or how long until the infection takes place. I left the office five days ago. For all I know, we could all be zombies right now. I don’t know,” he said, “one thing I do know is that if you’re bitten you will definitely become a zombie,” David said, “no one was bitten, right?”

Noah held tightly to Olivia’s hand. With his free hand he felt under his shirt. He felt the teeth marks there, and the blood and pus spilling out of it. He didn’t say anything though. Who knew what they would do to him if they knew.   
“Do you know how the infection spreads?” Matt asked. 

“As a matter a fact I do,” David said, “the infection starts in the frontal lobe. From the frontal lobe it spreads to the cerebral cortex, then the rest of the brain,”

“Huh,” Matt thought for a second. If he learned more about the infection, there may be a way to reverse engineer a vaccine, and put the monster back into it’s cage. He would need a living sample though.

“We can’t stay here,” Anthony said, “pretty soon, if they haven’t already, they’re going to barricade us all in the city. We won’t be able to get out,”

“Why would we want to leave?” Mari asked, “if we’re not zombies we’re safe here,”

“They’ll also barricade us in with the zombies,” Matt said, “we’ll be closer to the infection, therefore we’ll have more of a chance of getting the infection,”

“I know a place we could go,” Shayne said, “there’s a house, outside the city. Abandoned, fenced in, all the good stuff,”

“Shayne. Did you call your friend?” Ian asked. 

“Yeah. He can hook us up,” Shayne replied. 

“Hook us up with what?” Anthony asked. 

“Weapons,” Shayne replied, “more than just a couple M9s and kitchen knives,”

“How far is he from here?” Wes asked.

“Not far. It’s a ten minute drive from here,” Shayne replied.

“Does he have swords?” Joven asked, “because swords don’t need to be reloaded,”

Everyone sat in silence for a moment thinking over Joven’s logic. It was very logical, and it made a lot of sense. Guns may be more powerful, but you didn’t need to carry around multiple magazines for a sword. 

“I don’t know,” Shayne said.

 

“Only a few of us should go,” Flitz said.

“Agreed,” Keith said, “how many magazines do with have left?”

“I’ve got two,” Wes said.

“I’ve got half of one,” Ian said.

“I have one and a half,” Anthony said. 

“Anthony. You, Wes, Joven, Shayne and bowl hair go and get the guns. Leave us with one of the guns and a magazine,” Olivia said. Anthony shook his head. 

“Absolutely not. I am not going with him,” Anthony said. 

“You have to Anthony!” Olivia said, “whatever happened in the past, put it behind you. Think of the present. Think of our survival,”

Anthony thought for a moment. Olivia had a point. This was for their survival, but Ian...he did not want to work with Ian. Not again.

“Anthony,” Ian said, “I won’t make the same mistakes. I promise,”

Anthony wanted to scoff at him, but Ian had never broken a promise that he had made. It had been him who had broken all their promises. Ian was an honest person. He sighed. 

“Fine,” he handed Olivia his gun, and took Wes’s gun from him, “let’s go,”

***

The trip was relatively uneventful. They snuck around the city past zombies and authority figures alike. Shayne had one gun, and was leading in the front. Ian had the other and was bringing up the rear. Like it had been in the old days, Anthony handed him the gun, and Anthony took the stance to fight fist fight anything that may come their way. 

While they were walking, they did come upon a soldier. He had tried to stop them, threatened to shoot them even. He didn’t know if they were infected, and neither did they. Ian shot the guy in the leg. Anthony went and put him in a choke hold until he was unconscious. Then they continued on their way. 

They made it to a fence. Shayne climbed over it, and the other’s followed. Shayne walked to the back door and opened it. 

“Thomas!” Shayne shouted, “THOMAS!”

A man, Thomas, came running up the basement steps. Him and Shayne had a brief reunion before getting down to business. They began going down to the basement. 

“Shayne said you guys could find a cure that can stop this whole mess,” Thomas said, “so I have prepared an arsenal for you. I don’t normally lend out my stuff for stuff like this, especially for free, but survival of the human race and all that shit is kinda important,” he turned the light on. The walls were lined with weapons. There was a table directly in front of them with partially put together weapons on it. He moved to the back of the room and collected a few duffle bags. He went to one wall. 

“M9s and M11s. Any of you want one now?” he asked. Wes nodded. 

“I’ll take an M9,” he said. Thomas handed him the gun and two magazines. He put two more M9s and three M11s into one of the black bags. He put more magazines than any of them could count in the bag as well. He moved to another wall, “rifles. One M16A4, one M4, and two AK-47s,”

“I’ll take an AK-47 now,” Anthony said. Thomas handed Anthony the gun, along with an extra magazine. He placed the other guns into the same bag as the handguns, along with more magazines. 

“Shotguns M500, M590, and M590A1,” Thomas said, then he looked at Ian, “you want one?”

“I’ll take the M590,” Ian said. He was given the gun and the magazine, and placed the others into the duffle bag. Wes began looking around the room. 

“Can we take a couple magnums?” he asked. 

“Sure. Get ‘em yourself,” Thomas was busy at another wall. He had a handful of grenades, and placed them in a second duffle bag. Wes grabbed a few magnums and bullets and put them in the first bag. Then Thomas turned around carrying two very large weapons. 

“M202 flash and M136 AT4,” he said, “anti tank assault weapons. Basically weapons with the power of a tank, without the tank,

“I know,” Ian and Anthony said at the same time. They glared at each other for a second before looking back at Thomas. 

“These things and their ammo aren’t light, and I’m assuming you’ve got a long way to go,” he said.

“We do,” Shayne said, “we’re going to Harry’s house,”

“Who’s Harry?” Joven asked. 

“No one important,” Shayne replied, “you thought about coming with us?”

“Nah. Can’t. There are people out there who want to survive,” Thomas replied, “there are people who know other people who know other people who they can send to me for weapons. And I’ll make them pay. I’ll be rich,”

“Okay,” Shayne said, slightly disappointed. 

“Anyway, I’m not gonna give you too much ammo for either of these weapons, so use them wisely,”

“What about snipers?” Anthony asked, “could we have a few of those?”

“Sure. Which do you want?”

“An M24,” Anthony replied. 

“And an SR-25,” Ian said. Anthony could’ve said that. He knew Ian preferred the SR-25 over the M24, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to admit that he remembered. Not to Ian. He had to pretend he didn’t care one bit about his friend. He needed to act like he didn’t want to be there, but over the past hour he had begun to discover that he wanted to be there.

Thomas removed the guns from one of the walls and placed them in a third bag, “anything else you guys need?”

“Yeah. Melee weapons, swords, knives,” Joven said. Thomas gave him a strange look, “swords and knives don’t have to be reloaded,”

“You are smart my friend,” Thomas said, going towards a corner, “I don’t have too much in the way of melee, but I have some stuff,”

He came back holding a rolled up knife case and three swords. He untied the knife case and unrolled it, “this is what I have in the way of knives. And this are the swords,”

Joven took one of the swords and unsheathed it. He put it back and unsheathed the second two. He chose to take the first sword with him, and put the other two in the bag with the snipers. He put the knives in there as well. Joven clipped the sword to his belt. Wes picked up the heavy bag with the anti tank assault weapons in it. Joven took the one with all the guns, and Shayne took the one with the swords and snipers. They were about to leave when Shayne looked back.

“You sure you don’t wanna come?” Shayne asked. 

“Nah. I’m good here,” Thomas said, “just make sure you tell them all that I helped you escape when you find the cure,”

“Will do,” Shayne smiled, “thanks buddy,”

A chorus of thank yous followed as they walked up the stairs. They went out the back door and back over the fence. They began making their way back to the stadium. 

All of them felt much safer with these better weapons, but there was of course a feeling of uneasiness between them all since they were out in the open. They noticed on their way out that the soldier they had left on the ground was gone. That’s what put them all on edge, especially Ian and Anthony. They both knew that if he had gotten up and left, he had radioed for help, and there were soldiers lying in wait around somewhere. 

“Joven, take a gun from the bag,” Anthony said softly. 

“Why?” Joven asked.

“Because swords don’t protect against soldiers. And there are undoubtedly some around here,” Ian replied. Anthony wanted to punch him for having the same thoughts as him, but instead he just scowled. Ian couldn’t see his scowl though, considering he was in the front of the group and Ian was in the back. Joven took an M9 from the bag. He cocked it, prepared to use it. 

Then the attack came. Someone came out and shot, but Anthony’s reflexes were fast. He raised his rifle and shot him dead instantly. The others were on edge now. 

“There are most likely three more,” Ian whispered. Anthony hated to admit Ian was right. Anthony raised the rifle high, looking for other soldiers. He spotted another in the bushes. It was too far for him to shoot. 

“Ian,” Anthony whispered, “bushes at two o’clock,”

Ian nodded and raised his rifle. He spotted the soldier, and shot. He was killed instantly.

“Two down, two to go,” Shayne said. Anthony shot another one who was on a rooftop above them. The last came running at them, at Joven specifically. Joven drew his sword, and it went right through the soldier’s midsection. Joven pulled it out and let the soldier roll to the ground. He wiped the blood on the grass and resheathed it. 

“Run,” Anthony said, and they took off back towards the stadium. They arrived in minutes, sweaty and out of breath. 

“We got weapons,” Ian said, panting. The others dropped their bags on the ground. 

“Ian, Anthony,” Shayne said, “you guys pass ‘em out,” 

The two nodded. Ian chose to give M9s to Matt, Courtney, and Keith. He took the M590, gave Mari M500, and gave Shayne the M4. Anthony gave Noah an M9. He gave David the M590A1. Olivia, Joven, and Sabrina took swords. Sabrina and Olivia also took M9s, while Joven took an M11. Anthony took the AK-47, and gave Wes the M16A4. They also each took a knife. 

“So how are we getting out of the city?” Matt asked, “and where are we going?”

“We’re going to an old safe house of mine,” Shayne said, “and we’re taking the sewers,”

“Safe houses, friends who make guns, Shayne, what did you do?” Anthony asked. Shayne bit his lip.

“Shayne was a mob boss,” Ian said, “but he’s moved past that, turned his life around. You can trust him,”

Anthony nodded. Once again, he was trusting Ian. Ian had never been given a reason not to trust him, so he went along with it.

“Let’s get going,” Shayne said, picking up the bag with the snipers. Wes took the heaviest one once again, and David took the one with the remaining guns. They began on their way. 

Shayne led them to an abandoned alley with a manhole cover. Him and Joven lifted the cover, and there was a ladder that went down. Shayne climbed down first. When he gave the all clear Sabrina and Tyler went down, then the others began following. Wes was the last to go down, and he pulled the cover back over the hole just as he heard people coming. 

They made their way slowly through the sewers. There was no one chasing them, so they only focused on saving their energy and the terrible smell. On another occasion, many of them would’ve complained, but not in this situation. It was a true life or death situation that was at hand, so none of them complained about the smelly sewer. 

Then they heard a noise behind them, a moan almost. All of them froze but then simultaneously began moving faster than before. Then they heard footsteps, and they took off running. Then they saw zombies behind them. Mari stopped and began shooting at them. Wes noticed this and stopped as well, shooting zombies as well. Matt turned and saw Wes and Mari shooting. He ran back, and wedged himself between them, shooting as well. 

“Matt go! You’re not equipped for this!” Mari shouted. 

“I am perfectly capable of doing this!” Matt said, stepping forward slightly, trying to show Mari he was capable. A zombie was running straight at him. It was about to pounce on him when Mari shot it. Wes stepped forward, and cleared down the front line of zombies while Matt stood there ashamed. Then Wes’s mag emptied.

“Guys let’s go!” Anthony shouted. He had run back for them. Mari took a few more shots before she started running after Anthony. Mari was in front, and Matt behind her. Wes could easily outrun Matt, but he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he did. Even though he was trying to get Mari’s heart the same as he was, he couldn’t leave Matt for dead. So he purposefully ran slower than him.

They arrived at a ladder where Shayne was waiting. Anthony climbed, then Mari, then Matt, and then Wes. Shayne shot a few more zombies before climbing up after them. He put the cover back over the hole. 

“I never thought the zombies would be that fast,” Wes said, panting. Everyone agreed. Then they continued onward. Shayne said it wasn’t much further. Then they saw it. They were at the top of a hill, and over there, on the next hill, was a nice, safe, fenced in, farm house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday to me,  
> It's four days late,  
> And I'm sad because,  
> I have to go back to school tomorrow and updates probably won't come as often because high school


	3. For The Sake of Sanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact. The title of this chapter was originally the title of the story. Then it was going to be One Last Time For The Sake of Sanity then I decided that sounded like the title of a FOB song, except it actually made sense. So I just decided to fit with the overarching theme of the story that I’m going for, One Last Time worked better.

Chapter 3: For The Sake of Sanity

They had been at the house for a day. A whole day, and it had been completely silent. No police had followed them. No zombies had followed them. And most importantly, no survivors had followed them. They didn’t have all that much food. They would have to go hunting for it. Wes offered to go. 

Shayne had given him a bow. He said it was better to use that on animals because you could reuse the arrows. You couldn’t reuse the bullets. Wes had agreed. He still took his rifle, and Mari had offered to go with him for protection. He didn’t object. The only person who did was Matt, but he didn’t say anything. At least not in front of Wes. The man was almost a foot taller than him, so he just let the two of them go. 

Wes and Mari walked together, through the gate and out towards the woods. Wes led, and Mari’s back was to him, watching behind them. Mari was more worried about running into zombies, but Wes was worried about running into other survivors, and having to chose whether or not to end their life. 

***

Back in the house, the tensions were even higher. Everyone could almost feel the intensity between Ian and Anthony. They sat in silence, not quite knowing what to do. Wes and Mari had gone out to get food, and no one knew if they were going to come back. Shayne’s safe house didn’t have as much food as he thought it did. He thought he had enough food to last the fifteen of them at least a week. He was wrong. 

So now they all sat in silence, not knowing if they were going to get food. 

“We should do something,” David said, “not just all sit around in silence. We need a plan,” 

“I agree,” Ian said. Anthony did as well. He didn’t want to say anything though. He felt stupid and petty, basing every one of his actions off of Ian’s. At the same time though, he didn’t think it was ridiculous. Ian had come completely out of left field, tried to kiss him, got him almost fatally wounded, and got him discharged from the army, which was the one thing he wanted to do with his life. So in his mind, he was still pissed. 

“We need to get out of the country,” Anthony said, “once we’re positive none of us are infected, we need to get over the border. Either border will do,” 

“But we can’t just walk over the border,” Ian said, “do you know how many patrols there will be? How many people are going to try and flee? If we get caught outside a city…” 

“I know. I know…,” Anthony said, slightly annoyed.

Ian was pissed off at Anthony. Anthony was being such a child. Ian understood that Anthony was mad at him, but this had crossed a line. They were in a life or death situation, fifteen lives were resting on their shoulders, and Anthony couldn’t let go of something that happened more than five years ago. Ian had screwed up. He knew that, and he had apologized. He had sent Anthony multiple letters apologizing for what he had done. Ian was going to scream at him if he kept it up much longer. 

“What if there’s a car?” Joven said. Anthony wanted to slap himself for not thinking of it. He was a mechanic, so it made sense that Joven would think about it; but Anthony was in the army, and that was just common sense. “Shayne, are there any cars here?” 

“Yeah. Three, in the garage. Only one of them works though. The second is broken and the third is literally just a shell,” Shayne replied. 

“Can I go take a look at them?” Joven asked. 

“Sure. Follow me,” Shayne said, walking towards the front. Joven got up off the couch and followed Shayne out. He kept his hand on his gun. Everyone seemed to trust Shayne, but Joven was being a little too cautious. If he was going to die, it was going to be in some badass way, not shot in a garage by an ex-con. So he kept his hand on his gun. 

“So where do we go, if we can go anywhere?” Ian asked. 

“I have relatives in Canada,” Brina said, “ We could go there,”

“Where?” Anthony asked. 

“Toronto,” Brina replied. Anthony sighed, “I know it’s far, but it’s somewhere to go,”

Anthony thought for a moment. Toronto was far, and they had no idea how far the virus had spread. There could be as much security in Canada as there was in the United States. But then again, there could not. It would be a risk to drive that far. A big one. But they were close to a city, and if either Ian or Anthony was called back into the army after that long, they would come looking. And it wouldn’t be hard to find them. Then all of them would be screwed. They needed to get out of here as quickly as possible. At least in Canada they knew someone who could help them. It was a start.

“Yeah. Canada. it’s something,” Anthony said, “I’m gonna talk to Joven, see how fast it takes us to get on the road,”

Anthony left the room, and went in the direction Joven had gone in earlier. He tried a few doors until he found a garage. Joven and Shayne were talking quietly. 

“What’s going on?” Anthony asked. 

“I found out why we have so little food,” Shayne said, “someone came and raided my house. They took the good car, and all the gas we had in the garage,”

“What does that mean?” Anthony asked. 

“It means we have two vehicles, neither of which function, and no gas,” Joven replied. 

“So someone’s gonna have to sneak back into the city and get more gas,” Anthony said, “and you’re gonna start fixing up these cars,”

“Anthony!” Joven almost yelled, “the one car, the minivan over there, is a shell. Literally! There is an engine in it, nothing else!”

“Do you have anything here? Any other functioning machine?” Anthony asked Shayne. Shayne thought for a moment.

“OH! I think there’s a tractor in the barn! I don’t know how well it works though,” Shayne said, “I’ll go check that out for you,” he ran out of the garage. 

“Joven,” Anthony said, lowering his voice, “I’ve been doing the math, even if you get both these cars fixed. We won’t be able to fit everyone along with what we need to survive,”

“I know. I can do the math too,” Joven said, “but Anthony. This is gonna take me time, and do you honestly think everyone is gonna make it through this? Especially since you’re sending people into the city…”

“We’re all gonna make it through this,” Anthony said, “and I’m prepared to stay behind,”

“No. I can do it,” Joven said. 

“Nah I’ve got it,” Anthony smiled, “these things may need to be fixed along the way. You’re going to go,” Joven nodded, “just keep this quiet, between us, okay?”

“Yeah,” Joven said. Shayne re-entered the garage. 

“There is a tractor,” Shayne said, “it won’t start though. So I don’t know how much you’ll be able to salvage,”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Joven said. 

“Awesome. You want it here?” Shayne asked. Joven nodded, “then come help me move it,”

“Alright,” Joven said.

“I’ll help,” Anthony replied. Joven meet Anthony’s eye and nodded, knowing what was to come. The two of them followed Shayne out of the garage.

***

Wes and Mari had made it to the woods. They were walking silently through them, trying to find anything they could salvage for food. They had found a dying blackberry bush, and animals smaller than the head of Wes’s arrows. So they were screwed. 

“So, Mari,” Wes said, “what did you do before this?”

“Before this?” Mari said, “I was a lawyer and part time dance teacher,”

“Really? Interesting combination,” Wes replied. 

“Yeah. A lot of people say that, but I love dance. I just couldn’t bare to give it up after I became a lawyer,”

“Yeah,” Wes said. Then he heard something. He raised the bow, arrow lodged in the string. He began scanning the ground, looking for the thing that made the noise. He saw something moving in the brush. He pulled back on the string. 

“WES! STOP! THAT’S A DOG!” Mari yelled, grabbing the bow, and pulling it. Wes immediately dropped it on the ground as the creature came running up to them. It had a shaggy black coat, and it was a big dog. Wes had thought it was a bear, and he was sure glad that Mari noticed it was a dog. Wes squatted down, and the dog came running at him. Wes welcomed him with opened arms, as he dog jumped on him, and licked his face. 

“I think he likes me,” Wes said laughing. Mari laughed as well, bending down and petting the dog. She grabbed his collar, and pulled it around, looking for a name. 

“Walter,” Mari said, “interesting name for a dog,”

“Yeah,” Wes replied, standing up, “what do we do with him?”

“I guess we let him follow us around,” Mari said, “I couldn’t bare to leave him out here to starve,”

“Me either,” Wes said, “but what will the others think? I know Anthony, being the way he is, will be like ‘that’s just another month to feed! We’re not keeping it!’”

“To hell with what Anthony says,” Mari said, “I’m sure when we introduce him to everyone, they won’t be able to get rid of him,”

“You’re right,” Wes said. They began walking through the woods, Walter trotting at their heels. 

***

Everyone had left the living room except for Olivia and Noah. The two of them would be sharing a room, for they had been dating for about a year. Their options were one of them sleeps on the floor or they both sleep in the bed together. There was no opposition from either side about sleeping in the same bed as the other. 

They had begun to lay ground rules, and one of the first ones was that no one was to have sex while they were in this house, regardless of the circumstances. They all agreed they didn’t need the awkwardness...or problems that could come with that. They were going to ration their food as best they could, based on what everyone would end up doing. Courtney, David, and Matt had taken account what everyone would be doing each day and determined a set calorie count for them for the day. They didn’t know how much food they would have, when or where they could get more. 

Neither Olivia or Noah would be getting the most food, for neither of them would be doing much physical labor. Joven would be getting the most out of all of them, since he had to fix the cars. Then Wes because he was the largest of all of them, and he’d be guarding the perimeter. Then the rest of them got the same amount. Noah sat staring at the food in front of him. 

“Noah, eat something,” Olivia said to him. Noah only shook his head. He didn’t feel very well. He knew what was happening, but he refused to admit it, even to himself.

“Noah. Are you alright?” Olivia asked him, putting her food on the coffee table. 

“Yeah. I’m fine,” he replied with a weak smile. It took a lot of energy to put on that face, and even more to recognize the girl in front of him. She seemed to really care about him, but he couldn’t put a finger on as to why. 

Then they heard a door open. Olivia stood up, but Noah only stayed put. He nearly got up when he saw a large, black animal come trotting into the room. The girl who cared for him bent down and put her arms on the animal. Then others started coming into the room. 

Anthony heard footsteps enter the house from the kitchen. Him and Joven had been talking, but he stood up, assuming Wes and Mari had returned. He walked through the door, and immediately drew his gun and pointed it at the creature. 

“What the hell is that?! Why is it here?!” Anthony yelled getting closer to the creature. The dog sat and looked up at him. 

“It’s a dog!” Mari yelled, “his name’s Walter,”

“Why the hell is it here?” Anthony repeated. 

“We found him in the woods,” Wes said, “we couldn’t just leave him out there,” 

“Well he can’t stay here. That’s one more mouth to feed with food we don’t have, no thanks to you,” Anthony said, putting his gun away. 

“It’s not my fault there’s nothing in the woods!” Wes yelled. 

“Yes well you could’ve left the dog! Or better yet, killed the dog so we could eat it!” Anthony yelled back. 

“I would never eat a dog,” Wes said through gritted teeth, getting closer to Anthony. 

“If it’s the last thing available to eat; I’m gonna break down and eat the dog before I let myself starve,” Anthony said, getting up in Wes’s face. 

“You’re sick,” Wes finally said, walking back towards the outside, Walter got up and followed him. 

“I’m a soldier!” Anthony yelled, “I was trained to do what was necessary to survive! That dog is not necessary!” 

“He is to me!” Wes screamed, “and I wasn’t going to leave him behind,”

Wes waved his hand low, and Walter ran out the door. Anthony flipped Wes off as he walked out the door and slammed it behind him. Everyone stood in silence for a moment. 

“Guys,” Olivia finally spoke, “where’s Noah?”

They all began calling for him. Olivia was the first to check outside. She saw Wes out of the corner of her eye going towards the woods, but he wasn’t her main focus now. It was the other body she saw, limping ever so slowly towards the woods. 

“NOAH!” Olivia yelled, running across the lawn. Just then, Anthony came running around the house. 

“OLIVIA! STOP!” he yelled, raising his gun. Olivia stopped dead in her tracks as Noah turned around. He stared at her. He looked the same, but he was different. His eyes were empty of all emotion. 

“Noah…” Olivia said, walking closer to him. 

“Olivia stop!” Anthony yelled, “that is not Noah,”

Olivia glanced towards Anthony, then back at Noah. 

“Noah it’s me. It’s Olivia,” Olivia said. Noah snarled and took off running towards her. She stood frozen before she was shoved out of the way. She saw Anthony had pushed her out of the way, and Noah tackle him to the ground. Anthony got his gun in between him and Noah. 

“Anthony don’t hurt him!” Olivia yelled through tears. By now, everyone had made their way onto the lawn. Anthony heard Olivia’s request. As easy as it would be to end him then and there, he couldn’t do that, not for as long as he had known the two. Anthony pushed Noah off him, rolled over, hitting the smaller man’s head with the butt of his gun. He was out cold. Anthony stood up, panting. 

“What the hell just happened?” Olivia asked. Anthony bent over Noah, and looked at him. He then lifted Noah’s shirt, and saw the now very infected bite. 

“He was bitten,” Anthony said. It all clicked in Olivia’s mind then. His silence at the baseball stadium, his strange behavior at dinner. 

“You need to find a cure,” Olivia said, turning to David and Matt, “you two are scientists. The only reason we’re all here is because you two thought you could find a cure. Now you’ve got a sample of the virus, so put big brains together and find a cure,”

“We’ll do it,” David said, looking at Matt, “we’re going to find a cure,”

“Good,” Olivia breathed. 

“What do we do with him?” Anthony asked. 

“Lock him in the barn. In one of the horse stalls,” Shayne said, “they’re steel, and have titanium padlocks,”

They all looked at him. 

“I wasn’t the only person who used this house,” Shayne said. 

“Do you hear that?” Mari asked, stepping forward. Everyone got really quite. They looked towards the woods, and saw zombies coming their way. 

“Shit!” Anthony yelled. 

“Wes…” Mari said quietly. She had saw him wandering in that direction when he stormed out. Her concern for Wes set Matt’s teeth on edge, but again he kept his mouth shut. 

“Matt. You and Sabrina take Tyler down the basement,” Ian stepped forward and began giving orders, “David, Joven. You guys get Noah to the barn and then lock yourselves in the basement. Anthony, you and I will go up to the roof. The rest of you, stay on the ground, and prepare yourselves to shoot and stab these sons of bitches,”

Everyone stood staring at him. 

“Well move!” he yelled. Everyone began moving quickly. David and Joven ran to Noah’s body and picked him up. Sabrina and Matt ran into the house. Matt immediately went down to the basement and Sabrina rushed upstairs to get Tyler. She came running down the stairs moment later with the crying infant in her arms. Ian and Anthony passed her on her way down. The two of them carried their snipers and multiple rounds of ammunition to the roof. 

The others on the lawn were preparing as well. They had loaded up their guns, and had additional mags in their pockets. With tears in her eyes Olivia drew her sword, ready to slay anything the would try and change her into what Noah had become. 

Seconds later, David and Joven came tearing across the lawn. They ran into the house, and shut the door behind them. They ran into the basement, and David put his arm around his wife, she leant her head on his shoulder. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. 

On the roof, the atmosphere was much different. In the basement, the adrenaline was winding down, while on the roof it was only beginning to wind up. Both Ian and Anthony were assembling their guns. 

“Like old times, huh?” Anthony asked, a little smirk on his face. Ian nearly stopped putting his gun together. Anthony had just said something to him. Not only did he say something but he said something positive. Ian then snapped himself out of his thoughts, not wanting to lose this opportunity to rekindle their friendship. 

“Yeah it is,” Ian smiled. 

“Lets get to work then,” Anthony said, and he cocked his gun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this one’s a little short, sorry about that, but school doesn’t always like my writing schedule...and neither does my brain to be perfectly honest.


End file.
